https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-issue-positions-worlds-apart-3f80a342c790da64e3de92a4f5760991

https://apnews.com/article/trump-harris-issue-positions-worlds-apart-3f80a342c790da64e3de92a4f5760991

KAMAL HARRIS ON ABORTION

WAITING ON RESPONSE FROM CANDIDATE

DONALD TRUMP ON ABORTION

TRUMP: The former president often brags about appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. After dodging questions about when in pregnancy he believes the procedure should be restricted, Trump announced last spring that decisions on access and cutoffs should be left to the states. He has said he would not sign a national abortion ban into law if one landed on his desk and recently said he would not try to block access to abortion medication. He told Time magazine that it should also be left up to states to determine whether to prosecute women for abortions or to monitor their pregnancies. He has also said that, if he wins, he wants to make IVF treatment free for women.

HARRIS ON CLIMATE / ENERGY

Climate/Energy
HARRIS: As a senator from California, the vice president was an early sponsor of the Green New Deal, a sweeping series of proposals meant to swiftly move the U.S. to fully green energy that is championed by the Democratic Party’s most progressive wing. Harris also said during her short-lived 2020 presidential campaign that she opposed offshore drilling for oil and hydraulic fracturing. But during her three and a half years as vice president, Harris has adopted more moderate positions, focusing instead on implementing the climate provisions of the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. That provided nearly $375 billion for things like financial incentives for electric cars and clean energy projects. The Biden administration has also enlisted more than 20,000 young people in a national “Climate Corps,” a Peace Corps-like program to promote conservation through tasks such as weatherizing homes and repairing wetlands. Despite that, it’s unlikely that the U.S. will be on track to meet Biden’s goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 — a benchmark that Harris hasn’t talked about in the early part of her own White House bid.

TRUMP ON CLIMATE / ENERGY

TRUMP: His mantra for one of his top policy priorities: “DRILL, BABY, DRILL.” Trump, who in the past cast climate change as a “hoax” and harbors a particular disdain for wind power, says it’s his goal for the U.S. to have the cheapest energy and electricity in the world and has claimed he can cut prices in half within a year of his potential return to office. He’d increase oil drilling on public lands, offer tax breaks to oil, gas and coal producers, speed the approval of natural gas pipelines, open dozens of new power plants, including nuclear facilities, and roll back the Biden administration’s aggressive efforts to get people to switch to electric cars, which he argues have a place but shouldn’t be forced on consumers. He has also pledged to re-exit the Paris Climate Accords, end wind subsidies and eliminate regulations imposed and proposed by the Biden administration targeting energy-inefficient kinds of lightbulbs, stoves, dishwashers and shower heads.

HARRIS ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

Federal government
HARRIS: Like Biden, Harris has campaigned hard against “Project 2025,” a plan authored by leading conservatives to move as swiftly as possible to dramatically remake the federal government and push it to the right if Trump wins back the White House. She is also part of an administration that is already taking steps to make it harder for any mass firings of civil servants to occur. In April, the Office of Personnel Management issued a new rule that would ban federal workers from being reclassified as political appointees or other at-will employees, thus making them easier to dismiss. That was in response to Schedule F, a 2020 executive order from Trump that reclassified tens of thousands of federal workers to make firing them easier.

TRUMP ON FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

TRUMP: The former president has sought to distance himself from “Project 2025,” despite his close ties to many of its key architects. He has nonetheless vowed his own overhaul of the federal bureaucracy, which he has long blamed for blocking his first term agenda, saying: “I will totally obliterate the deep state.” The former president plans to reissue the Schedule F order stripping civil service protections. He says he’d then move to fire “rogue bureaucrats,” including those who ”weaponized our justice system,” and the “warmongers and America-Last globalists in the Deep State, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the national security industrial complex.” Trump has also pledged to terminate the Education Department and wants to curtail the independence of regulatory agencies like the Federal Communications Commission. As part of his effort to cut government waste and red tape, he has also pledged to eliminate at least 10 federal regulations for every new one imposed.

HARRIS ON IMMIGRATION

Immigration
HARRIS: Attempting to defuse a GOP line of political attack, the vice president has talked up her experience as California attorney general, saying she walked drug smuggler tunnels and successfully prosecuted gangs that moved narcotics and people across the border. Early in his term, Biden made Harris his administration’s point person on the root causes of migration. Trump and top Republicans now blame Harris for a situation at the U.S.-Mexico border that they say is out of control due to policies that were too lenient. Harris has countered that Trump worsened the situation by killing a bipartisan Senate compromise that would have included tougher asylum standards and hiring more border agents, immigration judges and asylum officers. She said she would bring back that bill and sign that law, saying that Trump “talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk” on immigration. The vice president has endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, seeking pathways to citizenship for immigrants in the U.S. without legal status, with a faster track for young immigrants living in the country illegally who arrived as children.

TRUMP ON IMMIGRATION

TRUMP: The former president promises to mount the largest domestic deportation in U.S. history — an operation that could involve detention camps and the National Guard. He’d bring back policies he put in place during his first term, like the Remain in Mexico program and Title 42, which placed curbs on migrants on public health grounds. And he’d revive and expand the travel ban that originally targeted citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries. After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, he pledged new “ideological screening” for immigrants to bar “dangerous lunatics, haters, bigots, and maniacs.” He’d also try to deport people who are in the U.S. legally but harbor “jihadist sympathies.” He’d seek to end birthright citizenship for people born in the U.S. whose parents are both in the country illegally.

HARRIS ON ISRAEL/GAZA

Israel/Gaza
HARRIS: Harris says Israel has a right to defend itself, and she’s repeatedly decried Hamas as a terrorist organization. But the vice president might also have helped defuse some backlash from progressives by being more vocal about the need to better protect civilians during fighting in Gaza.

More than 40,900 Palestinians have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its count, but says that women and children make up just over half of the dead. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants in the war.

Like Biden, Harris supports a proposed hostage for extended cease-fire deal that aims to bring all remaining hostages and Israeli dead home. Biden and Harris say the deal could lead to a permanent end to the grinding war and they have endorsed a two-state solution, which would have Israel existing alongside an independent Palestinian state.

TRUMP ON ISRAEL/GAZA

TRUMP: The former president has expressed support for Israel’s efforts to “destroy” Hamas, but he’s also been critical of some of Israel’s tactics. He says the country must finish the job quickly and get back to peace. He has called for more aggressive responses to pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses and applauded police efforts to clear encampments. Trump also proposes to revoke the student visas of those who espouse antisemitic or anti-American views and deport those who support Hamas.

HARRIS ON LGBTQ+ Issues

LGBTQ+ issues
HARRIS: During her rallies, Harris accuses Trump and his party of seeking to roll back a long list of freedoms including the ability “to love who you love openly and with pride.” She leads audiences in chants of “We’re not going back.” While her campaign has yet to produce specifics on its plans, she’s been part of a Biden administration that regularly denounces discrimination and attacks against the LGBTQ+ community. Early in Biden’s term, his administration reversed an executive order from Trump that had largely banned transgender people from military service, and his Education Department issued a rule that says Title IX, the 1972 law that was passed to protect women’s rights, also bars discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. That rule was silent on the issue of transgender athletes.

TRUMP ON LGBTQ+ Issues

TRUMP: The former president has pledged to keep transgender women out of women’s sports and says he will ask Congress to pass a bill establishing that “only two genders,” as determined at birth, are recognized by the United States. He promises to “defeat the toxic poison of gender ideology.” As part of his crackdown on gender-affirming care, he would declare that any health care provider that participates in the “chemical or physical mutilation of minor youth” no longer meets federal health and safety standards and bar them from receiving federal money. He’d take similarly punitive steps in schools against any teacher or school official who “suggests to a child that they could be trapped in the wrong body.” Trump would support a national prohibition of hormonal or surgical intervention for transgender minors and bar transgender people from military service.

HARRIS ON NATO / UKRAINE

NATO/Ukraine
HARRIS: The vice president has yet to specify how her positions on Russia’s war with Ukraine might differ from Biden’s, other than to praise the president’s efforts to rebuild alliances unraveled by Trump, particularly NATO, a critical bulwark against Russian aggression. The Biden administration has pledged unceasing support for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion. The government has sent tens of billions of dollars in military and other aid to Ukraine, including a tranche of aid that totaled $61 billion in weapons, ammunition and other assistance that is expected to last through the end of this year. The administration has maintained that continuing U.S. assistance is critical because Russian leader Vladimir Putin will not stop at invading Ukraine. Harris has said previously that it would be foolish to risk global alliances the U.S. has established and decried Putin’s “brutality.”

TRUMP ON NATO / UKRAINE

TRUMP: The former president has repeatedly taken issue with U.S. aid to Ukraine and says he will continue to “fundamentally reevaluate” the mission and purpose of the NATO alliance if he returns to office. He has claimed, without explanation, that he will be able to end the war before his inauguration by bringing both sides to the negotiating table. (His approach seems to hinge on Ukraine giving up at least some of its Russian-occupied territory in exchange for a cease-fire.) On NATO, he has assailed member nations for years for failing to hit agreed-upon military spending targets. Trump drew alarms this year when he said that, as president, he had warned leaders that he would not only refuse to defend nations that don’t hit those targets, but “would encourage” Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to countries that are “delinquent.”

HARRIS ON TARIFFS/TRADE

Tariffs/Trade
HARRIS: The Biden-Harris administration has sought to boost trade with allies in Europe, Asia and North America, while using tariffs and other tools to go after rivals such as China. The Democratic administration kept Trump’s tariffs on China in place, while adding a ban on exporting advanced computer chips to that country and providing incentives to boost U.S. industries. In May, the Biden-Harris administration specifically targeted China with increased tariffs on electric vehicles and steel and aluminum, among other products.

TRUMP ON TARIFFS/TRADE

TRUMP: The former president wants a dramatic expansion of tariffs on nearly all imported foreign goods, saying that “we’re going to have 10% to 20% tariffs on foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years.” He’s suggested tariffs as high as 100% on Chinese goods. He treats these taxes as a way to fund other tax cuts, lower the deficit and possibly fund child care — though the tariffs could raise prices for consumers without generating the revenues Trump promises. He would also urge Congress to pass legislation giving the president authority to impose a reciprocal tariff on any country that imposes one on the U.S. Much of his trade agenda has focused on China. Trump has proposed phasing out Chinese imports of essential goods including electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals and wants to ban Chinese companies from owning U.S. infrastructure in sectors such as energy, technology and farmland.

HARRIS ON TAXES

HARRIS: With much of the 2017 tax overhaul expiring at end of next year, Harris is pledging tax cuts for more than 100 million working and middle class households. In addition to preserving some of the expiring cuts, she wants to make permanent a tax credit of as much as $3,600 per child and offer a special $6,000 tax credit for new parents. Harris says her administration would expand tax credits for first-time homebuyers and push to build 3 million new housing units in four years, while wiping out taxes on tips and endorsing tax breaks for entrepreneurs. Like Biden, she wants to raise the corporate tax rate to 28% and the corporate minimum tax to 21%. The current corporate rate is 21% and the corporate minimum, raised under the Inflation Reduction Act, is at 15% for companies making more than $1 billion a year. But Harris would not increase the capital gains tax as much as Biden had proposed on investors with more than $1 million in income.

TRUMP ON TAXES

TRUMP: The former president has promised to extend and even expand all of the 2017 tax cuts that he signed into law, while also paying down the debt. He has proposed cutting the overall corporate tax rate to 15% from 21% — but only for companies that make their products in the U.S. He would repeal any tax increases signed into law by Biden. He also aims to gut some of the tax breaks that Biden put into law to encourage the development of renewable energy and EVs. Trump has proposed eliminating taxes on tips received by workers — a policy embraced by Harris, who would also raise the minimum wage for tipped workers — as well as eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits. He also wants to lower the cost of housing by opening up federal land to development. Outside analyses suggest that Trump’s ideas would do much more to increase budget deficits than what Harris would do, without delivering the growth needed to minimize any additional debt.

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CBS NEWS

Trump’s policy plans and platform on key issues for the 2024 election

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-platform-policy-positions-2024

Taxes

Trump and Harris have competing tax plans. Both nominees’ plans would have to be passed by Congress, which has the power of the purse. Here’s what Trump has proposed so far:

• Trump says he would extend tax cuts enacted in 2017, which reduced taxes for most Americans, though research has shown that top earners benefited the most.
• Trump’s plan would result in tax cuts for all, but the results for Americans vastly differ from Harris’ proposal, according to an analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Under Trump, everyone would receive a tax cut, but the lowest earners — those making under $19,600 — would just see a $320 difference in take-home pay, while under Harris, that same income group would have another $2,355 after taxes. The very highest earners under Trump would receive a tax break of  $376,910, according to the Penn Wharton analysis.
• Both Trump and Harris want to eliminate federal taxes on tips, something Trump proposed and Harris echoed. 
• Trump is also promising to end income taxes on Social Security benefits, which would help middle- and upper-middle income seniors the most.

Inflation

• Trump has pledged to end the “inflation nightmare.” But his policies, which include adding tariffs to all imported goods, would likely fuel inflation and reverse some of the progress of the last two years, some economists say.

Child tax credit

• Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, has pitched boosting the child tax credit to $5,000, up from the current top tax break of $2,000. He has advocated providing the tax credit to all Americans, including higher earners.
• Harris one-upped Vance’s number, suggesting a child tax credit of $6,000, although this would be for the parents of newborns. She also suggested a return to the pandemic-era expansion of the child tax credit, up to $3,600 for young children. She hasn’t released income eligibility thresholds, but it’s likely that it would phase out for those at higher income levels.

Abortion 

Trump and Harris have opposing views on abortion access, an issue that could be a crucial motivator for voters in November.

• Both Trump and Harris have highlighted the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, and the role that the three justices appointed by Trump played in that landmark decision, albeit for different reasons: Trump has touted his nomination of three of the five justices who voted to overturn Roe, while Harris has criticized her opponent for specifically selecting justices who would dismantle the constitutional right to abortion.
• Trump has said the issue should be left up to the voters of each state, declaring in an April video that “the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land.”
• While Trump has stopped short of backing a federal abortion ban, he said during a March radio interview that “people are agreeing on 15, and I’m thinking in terms of that.” During his first presidential debate with Harris, however, Trump declared, “I’m not signing a ban.” He did not offer a direct response when asked whether he’d veto a national abortion ban if it were passed by Congress. “I won’t have to,” he said. But when asked for a “yes or no” because running mate Sen. JD Vance “has said that you would veto,” Trump responded, “I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness.”
• But Trump has also called a six-week ban signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” He told NBC News in an interview in late August that six weeks is “too long” and said he is “going to be voting that we need more than six weeks” — a reference to a proposed amendment to Florida’s Constitution that is on the November ballot and would prohibit laws that restrict abortion before fetal viability, generally considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
• Trump backtracked after facing swift backlash from conservatives and said he would be voting “no” on the abortion amendment.

IVF

Access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) services became a campaign issue after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos created during the IVF process could be considered children. The decision threatened the availability of IVF services in Alabama and thrust access to fertility treatments into the national conversation, including among the presidential candidates.

• Trump unveiled a new plan last month that would require the federal government or insurance companies to cover the costs of IVF treatments, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Immigration 

• Trump has promised to launch the largest deportation operation in American history, invoking the notorious “Operation Wetback” roundup of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans in the 1950s under President Dwight Eisenhower. Officials question whether the promise is feasible given the significant operational and legal constraints involved in deporting millions of unauthorized immigrants, some of whom have U.S. citizen children.
• Trump vowed to try to end birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants living in the country illegally — a move that legal experts say is unlikely to pass constitutional muster. 
• The former president says he plans to reinstate his hardline border policies, including a program requiring migrants to remain in Mexico while their asylum cases are reviewed. He has also pledged to militarize the U.S.-Mexico border and to deputize the National Guard to arrest migrants crossing into the country unlawfully.
• Trump has not ruled out reviving the practice of separating migrant parents from their children as a way to deter migration, a policy that was discontinued after public outcry and a judicial order.
• He has talked about denying entry to legal immigrants based on their ideological beliefs, saying the move would target “Marxists” and “communists.”
• Trump says he’d suspend refugee admissions from the Middle East, and suggested he would reinstate and expand the travel ban his administration issued for certain countries, most of them predominantly Muslim.
• Harris has not yet issued an immigration policy platform. When talking about the issue during campaign events, Harris has mostly brought up the bipartisan border security deal that collapsed in Congress earlier this year after Trump urged GOP lawmakers to reject it. Harris has promised to revive the bill and accused Trump of scuttling it for political reasons.

Education 

• Trump says he wants to break up the Education Department. He’s also said he wants to cut federal spending for any school pushing “critical race theory” or transgender matters. 
• Like many Republicans, Trump is also a proponent of school choice — enabling parents to use tax dollars toward private institutions, rather than public schools.
• In 2018, a federal court approved a $25 million settlement with students who said they were misled by Trump and his now-defunct Trump University. The institution was supposed to teach them the real estate business. It operated from 2005 to 2010. 

Climate

• Trump has summed up his energy policy with the slogan “drill, baby, drill.” He vows to make America the world’s leading producer of oil and gas, in part by lifting restrictions on energy production.
• Trump’s energy plan, shared with CBS News via email, said he’d slash energy and electricity prices by more than half. 
• As president, Trump proposed large cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, which were ultimately rejected by the Democrat-led House Appropriations Committee. He told Fox News in June, “One of the things that’s so bad for us is environmental agencies. They make it impossible to do anything.” 
• Trump pulled out of the landmark Paris climate agreement in 2020 and his campaign says he would again exit the international treaty if he wins another term. The U.S. rejoined the agreement in 2021 — a decision announced the day Mr. Biden took office.
• Trump vowed he will undo what he calls Biden’s “electric vehicle mandate” on day one in office. The Biden-Harris administration has not issued any sort of mandate, but has introduced incentives to spur EV adoption at set goals and set a target that half of all new vehicle sales be zero emissions by 2030.

Guns

• The NRA endorsed Trump in May at its annual convention, and he has addressed the group several times, including in 2022 shortly after the Uvalde shooting. At another NRA event in February, he vowed “no one will lay a finger on your firearms.” 
• After the Las Vegas shooting in Oct. 2017, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms under the Trump administration moved forward with a ban on bump stocks, devices that greatly increase the rate of fire of semi-automatic weapons. The ban was later struck down by the Supreme Court. 

Israel and Gaza

Both Harris and Trump have at times been critical of Israel’s handling of its war against Hamas in Gaza. But neither has threatened to pull support for the ally. 

• Trump, who has portrayed himself as a staunch defender of Israel, has criticized the Israeli government’s handling of the war in Gaza. In a November interview with Univision, Trump commented on the war in Gaza, saying “Israel has to do a better job of public relations, frankly, because the other side is beating them at the public relations front.” He also called on Israel to “get it over with” in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. 
• As president, Trump controversially moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and ended decades of U.S. opposition to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. (The Biden administration reversed the settlement decision.) 

Ukraine and Russia

• Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the war in Ukraine in a day, though he has not outlined how he would do so. He has also claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine under his administration.
• Vance has been vocal about the GOP ticket’s opposition to additional Ukraine aid. Trump himself pushed for a loan framework for aid to Ukraine during debate over an aid package in February. At a rally in June, he suggested aid to Ukraine could stop if he returned to office.
• Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the phone in July. A phone conversation between the two leaders nearly five years prior spurred Trump’s first impeachment, when Trump pushed for Zelenskyy to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. 
• Trump has suggested he would not protect NATO members from Russia if they don’t increase defense spending.
• Trump attempted to build friendly relations with Russia while in office and has often praised Putin, calling the Russian leader “savvy” after Putin recognized the independence of two Russian separatist-controlled areas in Eastern Ukraine ahead of the invasion.

China

Trump has continued to talk tough against China while praising its leader Xi Jinping. 

• Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek in July that Taiwan should pay for U.S. protection. 
• In the Senate, Harris co-sponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act. Trump signed both into law. 
• In a recent interview with Fox News host Mark Levin, Trump said he “respected” China and Xi, adding that he’d “rather have a good relationship with China.” But he also accused the country of taking advantage of the U.S. 
• Trump has threatened to escalate his trade war with China, floating a tariff of 60% or more on Chinese goods. 
• Trump has also proposed revoking China’s Most Favored Nation trade status, phasing out all imports of essential goods from China and banning China from buying U.S. farmland. 

Iran nuclear deal

It’s unclear whether Harris would seek to cut a new nuclear deal with Iran if she wins the election. Trump rejected the Obama-era deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and removed the U.S. from the international agreement. 

• In 2018, as he withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 deal, Trump called it “disastrous” and “a great embarrassment.”

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Kamala Harris’ policy plans and platform on key issues for the 2024 election

Tax plan

Trump and Harris have competing tax plans. Both nominees’ plans would have to be passed by Congress, which has the power of the purse. Here’s what Harris has proposed so far:

• Harris says she’d provide bigger tax benefits for families but would offset the costs by raising corporate taxes, while Trump has said he’d extend the tax cuts enacted in 2017.
• Under Harris’ tax plan, according to an analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, 95% of Americans would see lower taxes, and higher earners would pay more taxes. The top 0.1% — whose annual average income exceeds $14 million — would pay about $167,000 more in taxes.
• Harris wants to eliminate federal taxes on tips, which Trump first proposed.
• She also says she wants to provide a financial cushion for small businesses with a tenfold increase in the startup expense deduction — lifting it from $5,000 to $50,000. New businesses wouldn’t need to claim the deduction in their first year, when many take losses and would not be able to use it. Instead, they’d be able to wait until they’re profitable and use the deduction at that time. Businesses would also be able to take part of the deduction in one year and save the rest for future years.

Child tax credit

• After Trump’s running mate JD Vance pitched boosting the child tax credit to $5,000, up from the current top tax break of $2,000, Harris one-upped Vance’s number, suggesting a child tax credit of $6,000, although this would be for the parents of newborns. 
• Harris also suggests a return to the pandemic-era expansion of the child tax credit, up to $3,600 for young children. She hasn’t released income eligibility thresholds, but it’s likely that it would phase out for those at higher income levels.
• Earlier this year, Senate Republicans blocked legislation that would have increased the child tax credit.

Housing shortage

Harris says she’d address the nation’s housing shortage with several initiatives. She promises to build 3 million affordable new homes and rentals by the end of her first term, offering tax breaks to builders who construct homes for first-time home buyers. She’s also proposing a $40 billion fund to help local governments find solutions to the low housing stock. 

And she wants to provide Americans who have paid their rent on time for two years with up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance, with more support for first-generation homeowners. 

Inflation

• Inflation has cooled nearly to pre-pandemic levels, but prices have risen nearly 21% since the beginning of the pandemic. A recent survey found two-thirds of middle-income families said they’re falling behind their cost of living 
• Harris is trying to address the effects of inflation on lower- and middle-class Americans, an approach used by the Biden administration. She blames price gouging by food suppliers and grocery chains for high prices at the store and pledges to take on corporations with the first federal law against price gouging. Economists have expressed doubts about the efficacy of such a law because they say that the reasons for food inflation are complex. 
• She also wants to lower prescription drug costs, which has been a focus for the Biden administration. Last month, the White House announced Medicare reached agreements with drug manufacturers for lower prices for 10 drugs that treat a range of ailments, from heart failure and blood clots to diabetes, resulting in savings for patients of 38% to 79%, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. It was Harris who cast the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which granted Medicare the drug negotiating authority. 

Immigration 

• Harris has not yet issued an immigration policy platform. At campaign events, Harris has mostly brought up the bipartisan border security deal that collapsed in Congress earlier this year after Trump urged GOP lawmakers to reject it. Harris has promised to revive the bill and accused Trump of scuttling it for political reasons.
• The legislation would have enacted permanent restrictions on asylum, given the president the power to quickly deport migrants when border crossings soar and boosted the ranks of border agents, deportation officers, immigration judges and asylum adjudicators. It would also have expanded legal immigration, allocating 50,000 new immigrant visas annually for five years.
• While the bipartisan border deal did not include a legalization program for undocumented immigrants — a longtime Democratic priority in immigration negotiations — Harris has expressed support for an “earned” path to citizenship for this population on the campaign trail.
• Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Harris’ campaign manager, signaled to CBS News that Harris would likely continue a June order by Mr. Biden that has severely curtailed access to the U.S. asylum system. It’s a move officials credit for a four-year-low in illegal border crossings.
• Harris’ campaign has tried to distance her from the more liberal immigration positions she espoused when she was a presidential candidate in 2020. Those prior positions included an openness to decriminalizing the act of crossing the border without authorization and overhauling Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Abortion

Harris and Trump have opposing views on abortion access, an issue that could be a crucial motivator for voters in November.

• Both Trump and Harris have highlighted the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, and the role that the three justices appointed by Trump played in that landmark decision, albeit for different reasons: Trump has touted his nomination of three of the five justices who voted to overturn Roe, while Harris has criticized her opponent for specifically selecting justices who would dismantle the constitutional right to abortion. Since the high court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, nearly one-third of states have near-total bans on the procedure in place, while access to abortion is severely restricted in a handful of others.
• Harris has made abortion rights a focal point of her campaign and lambasted “Trump abortion bans” on the trail.
• In her speech at the Democratic National Convention accepting the party’s presidential nominee, the vice president pledged to sign into law legislation that restores the federal right to abortion — if such a bill is passed by Congress.

IVF

Access to in vitro fertilization services became a campaign issue after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos created during the IVF process could be considered children. The decision threatened the availability of IVF services in Alabama and thrust access to fertility treatments into the national conversation, including among the presidential candidates.

• Harris has repeatedly said she supports the right of women to make their own decisions about their bodies and family-planning, and told the crowd at the DNC that since Roe’s reversal, she has heard stories of couples who have had their IVF treatments cut off.
• The vice president said in a video shared to social media that Trump “is literally the architect of this entire crisis,” and said the Alabama ruling is a “direct result” of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe.

Climate 

Harris has not outlined her climate policy yet, but she is expected to continue to pursue the goals of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which funded energy and climate projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. 

• As vice president, Harris advocates moving the country toward a “clean energy economy” while not completely backing away from oil and gas, which is a major industry in battleground states like Pennsylvania. The Keystone State is one of the top natural gas producers in the country. 
• In an interview with CNN, Harris said that as president, she wouldn’t ban fracking — a technique for extracting natural gas from shale — a departure from a statement she made in 2019 that she’d support a fracking ban. Citing the creation of 300,000 clean energy jobs during the Biden administration, she told CNN that her experience as vice president shows “we can increase a thriving clean energy economy without banning fracking.” 
• A Harris campaign spokesperson said 300,000 clean energy jobs were created under the Biden-Harris administration in both 2021 and 2022.
• The Democratic Party platform says it will increase protections against drilling and mining in the Arctic, although U.S. oil production has hit record highs during Mr. Biden’s presidency. Mr. Biden approved almost 50% more gas and oil leases during his time in office than Trump did during his first three years in office.
• Trump has vowed to undo what he calls Biden’s “electric vehicle mandate” on Day One in office. A spokesperson for Harris’ campaign told Axios Harris doesn’t support an electric vehicle mandate. The Biden administration has not issued a mandate, but it has introduced incentives to encourage Americans to buy EVs and set a target that half of all new vehicle sales be zero emissions by 2030.

Guns

• President Biden in 2022 signed the most significant update to gun safety law in almost three decades in the wake of mass shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and New York. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act augmented background checks for gun buyers under 21, provided billions for mental health services and closed the so-called “boyfriend loophole” to prevent convicted domestic abusers from purchasing a firearm for five years. It also clarified the definition of gun dealers — 26 GOP-led states are suing to block this provision. The measure also creates penalties for straw purchases and gun trafficking. In 2023, Mr. Biden announced the creation of the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, to be overseen by Harris. 
• Before she became the nominee, Harris visited Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the site of the 2018 mass shooting that left 17 dead, where she called on states to pass “red flag” laws, which allow courts to seize guns from those deemed to be a threat to themselves or others. Twenty-one states have enacted red flag laws, but many do not enforce them. She also announced federal funding and resources aimed at providing training and technical assistance to help states with their red flag programs. In 2024, the Justice Department announced the creation of the National Extreme Risk Protection Order Resource Center, dedicated to training and technical assistance to support states and localities in implementing their red flag programs. 
• At her speech at the Democratic National Convention, Harris only made passing reference to gun violence. “In this election, many other fundamental freedoms are at stake,” she said. “The freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools, communities and places of worship.”

Education 

• As a senator, Harris backed a bill that would have provided tuition-free college for most families. 
• The Democratic Party’s platform also calls for free college tuition for all. This is not an idea Harris has been discussing on the campaign trail. 

Israel and Gaza  

Both Harris and Trump have, at times, been critical of Israel’s handling of its war against Hamas in Gaza. But neither has threatened to pull support for the ally. 

• Harris has called the bloodshed in Gaza “devastating,” but vowed there would be no change in policy toward Israel. 
• She has pushed for a cease-fire deal that would release the remaining hostages held by Hamas. 
• She backs a two-state solution. 

Ukraine and Russia

• Harris pledged in her DNC address that she “will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies.”
• Harris accused Russia of committing “crimes against humanity” in Ukraine a year after the war began.
• The Biden administration has spearheaded a number of aid packages for Ukraine, including weapons, and worked with allies to sanction Russia for its invasion. Still, the administration’s response — especially early on in the war — has been criticized as slow-moving, and more recently, Republican opposition in Congress further slowed aid to Ukraine. 

China 

Harris has offered few details about how her China policy would differ from Mr. Biden’s. In her Democratic National Convention speech, Harris said “America — not China — wins the competition for the 21st century.” 

• She told “Face the Nation” in September 2023 that the U.S.-China economic relationship is “not about decoupling, it is about de-risking.” 
• Harris briefly met Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2022 in Bangkok amid friction between the two countries. The vice president said she stressed the need to “maintain open lines of communication to responsibly manage the competition between our countries.” 
• She has condemned China’s aggression in the South China Sea, accusing it of “undermining key elements of the international rules-based order” and coercing and intimidating its neighbors. 
• Harris has also reaffirmed U.S. support for Taiwan. 
• In the Senate, Harris cosponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act. Trump signed both into law. 

Iran nuclear deal 

It’s unclear whether Harris would seek to renegotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran if she wins the election. During the 2020 campaign, Harris, who was running in a crowded Democratic presidential primary, told the Council on Foreign Relations that she would seek to rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement, “so long as Iran also returned to verifiable compliance.”

Election 2024

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Election 2024

BELOW IS FROM www.state,gov

https://www.state.gov

About the U.S. Department of State

Our Mission

To protect and promote U.S. security, prosperity, and democratic values and shape an international environment in which all Americans can thrive

Climate Crisis

Bold action to tackle the climate crisis is more urgent than ever. The record-breaking heat, floods, storms, drought, and wildfires devastating communities around the world underscore the grave risks we already face. Through our actions at home and our leadership abroad, the United States is doing its part to build a zero-carbon future that creates good jobs and ensures a healthy, livable planet for generations to come.

Combating Drugs and Crime

Effectively combating transnational criminal organizations requires a comprehensive, committed, and well-coordinated approach between us, other federal agencies, and our partners around the world.

Covid-19 Recovery

COVID-19 is a global challenge that requires a global response.  Together, we will lead the world out of this pandemic. The United States is exercising diplomatic leadership to mobilize an international response to the COVID-19 pandemic and its secondary impacts while strengthening global biosecurity infrastructure to address both the current crisis and future health-related threats.

Countering Terrorism

As the threats posed by terrorist organizations continue to evolve, we work to build global consensus to degrade and defeat these adversaries.  We also work closely with the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, Treasury, and the Intelligence Community to lead an integrated whole-of-government approach to international counterterrorism.

Cyber Issues

In partnership with other countries, we lead the U.S. government’s efforts to promote an open, interoperable, secure, and reliable information and communications infrastructure that supports international trade and commerce, strengthens international security, and fosters free expression and innovation.

Economic Prosperity and Trade Policy

Our economic officers focus on building a strong U.S. economy that creates jobs and underpins national security, highlight economic considerations in policy formulation, and build the relationships needed to expand commercial ties that drive American prosperity.  

Energy

We promote U.S. interests globally on critical issues such as ensuring economic and energy security for the United States and its allies and partners, removing barriers to energy development and trade, and promoting U.S. best practices regarding transparency and good governance. We also work to deny terrorists and rogue nations access to funds derived from energy production.

Global Health

Outbreaks of infectious disease do not respect national boundaries. Halting and treating diseases at their points of origin is one of the best and most economical ways of saving lives and protecting Americans. We actively work to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats.

Global Women’s Issues

The United States is committed to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls through U.S. foreign policy. We have identified four key priorities to advance gender equality and the status of women and girls around the world: women, peace, and security; women’s economic empowerment; gender-based violence; and adolescent girls.

Human Rights and Democracy

The United States uses a wide range of tools to advance a freedom agenda, including bilateral diplomacy, multilateral engagement, foreign assistance, reporting and public outreach, and economic sanctions. We work with democratic partners, international and regional organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and engaged citizens to support those seeking freedom.

Human Trafficking

We lead U.S. global engagement to combat human trafficking and support the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts across the U.S. government. The United States follows the widely used “3P” paradigm — prosecution, protection, and prevention — to combat human trafficking worldwide. We also employ a “4th P” — for partnership — as a complementary means to achieve progress across the 3Ps and enlist all segments of society in the fight against modern slavery.

The Ocean and Polar Affairs

The United States works to efficiently and effectively develop and manage ocean resources with neighboring countries and the international community to preserve their health and wealth for many generations to come. The changes today in the Arctic — economic, social, and environmental — transcend national borders, opening new opportunities and making international cooperation critical for the Arctic’s continued sustainable development.

Refugee and Humanitarian Assistance

The primary goal of U.S. humanitarian assistance is to save lives and alleviate suffering by ensuring that vulnerable and crisis-affected individuals receive assistance and protection.  U.S. funding provides life-saving assistance to tens of millions of displaced and crisis-affected people, including refugees, worldwide.

Science, Technology, and Innovation

We execute public diplomacy programs that promote the value of science to the general public. We also implement capacity-building programs in emerging markets that train young people to become science and technology entrepreneurs. Our efforts contribute to scientific enterprises that hasten economic growth and advance U.S. foreign policy priorities.

Treaties and International Agreements

Treaties and other international agreements are written agreements between sovereign states (or between states and international organizations) governed by international law.  The United States enters into more than 200 treaties and other international agreements each year.

Taxes

Trump and Harris have competing tax plans. Both nominees’ plans would have to be passed by Congress, which has the power of the purse. Here’s what Trump has proposed so far:

• Trump says he would extend tax cuts enacted in 2017, which reduced taxes for most Americans, though research has shown that top earners benefited the most.
• Trump’s plan would result in tax cuts for all, but the results for Americans vastly differ from Harris’ proposal, according to an analysis by the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Under Trump, everyone would receive a tax cut, but the lowest earners — those making under $19,600 — would just see a $320 difference in take-home pay, while under Harris, that same income group would have another $2,355 after taxes. The very highest earners under Trump would receive a tax break of  $376,910, according to the Penn Wharton analysis.
• Both Trump and Harris want to eliminate federal taxes on tips, something Trump proposed and Harris echoed. 
• Trump is also promising to end income taxes on Social Security benefits, which would help middle- and upper-middle income seniors the most.

Inflation

• Trump has pledged to end the “inflation nightmare.” But his policies, which include adding tariffs to all imported goods, would likely fuel inflation and reverse some of the progress of the last two years, some economists say.

Child tax credit

• Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s running mate, has pitched boosting the child tax credit to $5,000, up from the current top tax break of $2,000. He has advocated providing the tax credit to all Americans, including higher earners.
• Harris one-upped Vance’s number, suggesting a child tax credit of $6,000, although this would be for the parents of newborns. She also suggested a return to the pandemic-era expansion of the child tax credit, up to $3,600 for young children. She hasn’t released income eligibility thresholds, but it’s likely that it would phase out for those at higher income levels.

Abortion 

Trump and Harris have opposing views on abortion access, an issue that could be a crucial motivator for voters in November.

• Both Trump and Harris have highlighted the Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, and the role that the three justices appointed by Trump played in that landmark decision, albeit for different reasons: Trump has touted his nomination of three of the five justices who voted to overturn Roe, while Harris has criticized her opponent for specifically selecting justices who would dismantle the constitutional right to abortion.
• Trump has said the issue should be left up to the voters of each state, declaring in an April video that “the states will determine by vote or legislation, or perhaps both, and whatever they decide must be the law of the land.”
• While Trump has stopped short of backing a federal abortion ban, he said during a March radio interview that “people are agreeing on 15, and I’m thinking in terms of that.” During his first presidential debate with Harris, however, Trump declared, “I’m not signing a ban.” He did not offer a direct response when asked whether he’d veto a national abortion ban if it were passed by Congress. “I won’t have to,” he said. But when asked for a “yes or no” because running mate Sen. JD Vance “has said that you would veto,” Trump responded, “I didn’t discuss it with JD, in all fairness.”
• But Trump has also called a six-week ban signed into law by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” He told NBC News in an interview in late August that six weeks is “too long” and said he is “going to be voting that we need more than six weeks” — a reference to a proposed amendment to Florida’s Constitution that is on the November ballot and would prohibit laws that restrict abortion before fetal viability, generally considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy.
• Trump backtracked after facing swift backlash from conservatives and said he would be voting “no” on the abortion amendment.

IVF

Access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) services became a campaign issue after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled in February that frozen embryos created during the IVF process could be considered children. The decision threatened the availability of IVF services in Alabama and thrust access to fertility treatments into the national conversation, including among the presidential candidates.

• Trump unveiled a new plan last month that would require the federal government or insurance companies to cover the costs of IVF treatments, which can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

Immigration 

• Trump has promised to launch the largest deportation operation in American history, invoking the notorious “Operation Wetback” roundup of Mexican immigrants and Mexican-Americans in the 1950s under President Dwight Eisenhower. Officials question whether the promise is feasible given the significant operational and legal constraints involved in deporting millions of unauthorized immigrants, some of whom have U.S. citizen children.
• Trump vowed to try to end birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants living in the country illegally — a move that legal experts say is unlikely to pass constitutional muster. 
• The former president says he plans to reinstate his hardline border policies, including a program requiring migrants to remain in Mexico while their asylum cases are reviewed. He has also pledged to militarize the U.S.-Mexico border and to deputize the National Guard to arrest migrants crossing into the country unlawfully.
• Trump has not ruled out reviving the practice of separating migrant parents from their children as a way to deter migration, a policy that was discontinued after public outcry and a judicial order.
• He has talked about denying entry to legal immigrants based on their ideological beliefs, saying the move would target “Marxists” and “communists.”
• Trump says he’d suspend refugee admissions from the Middle East, and suggested he would reinstate and expand the travel ban his administration issued for certain countries, most of them predominantly Muslim.
• Harris has not yet issued an immigration policy platform. When talking about the issue during campaign events, Harris has mostly brought up the bipartisan border security deal that collapsed in Congress earlier this year after Trump urged GOP lawmakers to reject it. Harris has promised to revive the bill and accused Trump of scuttling it for political reasons.

Education 

• Trump says he wants to break up the Education Department. He’s also said he wants to cut federal spending for any school pushing “critical race theory” or transgender matters. 
• Like many Republicans, Trump is also a proponent of school choice — enabling parents to use tax dollars toward private institutions, rather than public schools.
• In 2018, a federal court approved a $25 million settlement with students who said they were misled by Trump and his now-defunct Trump University. The institution was supposed to teach them the real estate business. It operated from 2005 to 2010. 

Climate

• Trump has summed up his energy policy with the slogan “drill, baby, drill.” He vows to make America the world’s leading producer of oil and gas, in part by lifting restrictions on energy production.
• Trump’s energy plan, shared with CBS News via email, said he’d slash energy and electricity prices by more than half. 
• As president, Trump proposed large cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, which were ultimately rejected by the Democrat-led House Appropriations Committee. He told Fox News in June, “One of the things that’s so bad for us is environmental agencies. They make it impossible to do anything.” 
• Trump pulled out of the landmark Paris climate agreement in 2020 and his campaign says he would again exit the international treaty if he wins another term. The U.S. rejoined the agreement in 2021 — a decision announced the day Mr. Biden took office.
• Trump vowed he will undo what he calls Biden’s “electric vehicle mandate” on day one in office. The Biden-Harris administration has not issued any sort of mandate, but has introduced incentives to spur EV adoption at set goals and set a target that half of all new vehicle sales be zero emissions by 2030.

Guns

• The NRA endorsed Trump in May at its annual convention, and he has addressed the group several times, including in 2022 shortly after the Uvalde shooting. At another NRA event in February, he vowed “no one will lay a finger on your firearms.” 
• After the Las Vegas shooting in Oct. 2017, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms under the Trump administration moved forward with a ban on bump stocks, devices that greatly increase the rate of fire of semi-automatic weapons. The ban was later struck down by the Supreme Court. 

Israel and Gaza

Both Harris and Trump have at times been critical of Israel’s handling of its war against Hamas in Gaza. But neither has threatened to pull support for the ally. 

• Trump, who has portrayed himself as a staunch defender of Israel, has criticized the Israeli government’s handling of the war in Gaza. In a November interview with Univision, Trump commented on the war in Gaza, saying “Israel has to do a better job of public relations, frankly, because the other side is beating them at the public relations front.” He also called on Israel to “get it over with” in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. 
• As president, Trump controversially moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and ended decades of U.S. opposition to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. (The Biden administration reversed the settlement decision.) 

Ukraine and Russia

• Trump has repeatedly claimed he could end the war in Ukraine in a day, though he has not outlined how he would do so. He has also claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin would never have invaded Ukraine under his administration.
• Vance has been vocal about the GOP ticket’s opposition to additional Ukraine aid. Trump himself pushed for a loan framework for aid to Ukraine during debate over an aid package in February. At a rally in June, he suggested aid to Ukraine could stop if he returned to office.
• Trump spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the phone in July. A phone conversation between the two leaders nearly five years prior spurred Trump’s first impeachment, when Trump pushed for Zelenskyy to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter. 
• Trump has suggested he would not protect NATO members from Russia if they don’t increase defense spending.
• Trump attempted to build friendly relations with Russia while in office and has often praised Putin, calling the Russian leader “savvy” after Putin recognized the independence of two Russian separatist-controlled areas in Eastern Ukraine ahead of the invasion.

China

Trump has continued to talk tough against China while praising its leader Xi Jinping. 

• Trump told Bloomberg Businessweek in July that Taiwan should pay for U.S. protection. 
• In the Senate, Harris co-sponsored the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act and the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act. Trump signed both into law. 
• In a recent interview with Fox News host Mark Levin, Trump said he “respected” China and Xi, adding that he’d “rather have a good relationship with China.” But he also accused the country of taking advantage of the U.S. 
• Trump has threatened to escalate his trade war with China, floating a tariff of 60% or more on Chinese goods. 
• Trump has also proposed revoking China’s Most Favored Nation trade status, phasing out all imports of essential goods from China and banning China from buying U.S. farmland. 

Iran nuclear deal

It’s unclear whether Harris would seek to cut a new nuclear deal with Iran if she wins the election. Trump rejected the Obama-era deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, and removed the U.S. from the international agreement. 

• In 2018, as he withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 deal, Trump called it “disastrous” and “a great embarrassment.” 

Election 2024

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